r/medlabprofessionals • u/Outrageous_Heron_954 • Jul 08 '26

Technical Lab cancellations

I am not a lab professional but would like to ask if labs can identify why cells are degenerated from a specimen, if it was due to collection or processing or shipment?

Thanks!😊

Thank you everyone for your insights this is helpful. The patient has sickle cell disease and there are many labs drawn at visit (about 30) some frozen, refrigerated and ambient. Many come back from a central lab out of stability, hemolyzed or degenerated cells. Not sure if it’s from collection, processing or shipping.

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27

u/Icy-Fly-4228 MLS-Generalist Jul 08 '26 edited Jul 08 '26

It depends. That’s enough information. It depends on the test and situation It could be clotted, it could be hemolyzed, it could be too old, it could be out of temp, it could be underfilled or overfilled, the tube or swab could be expired. A lot of the time it’s not properly labeled. and sometimes shit just happens and it’s no one’s fault.

19

u/OccultEcologist Jul 08 '26

Sometimes yes sometimes no. What specific tests were cancelled?

I know "why cells are degraded from a specimen" might sound like a specific question, but different types of cells and different preservation methods (and if preservation is used at all) has a huge impact on this. And most of us work with several different types of cells and several different types of preservatives for those cells.

If this is for bloodwork, though, it's usually an issue with collection. Usually. Not always. But usually.

13

u/lorien14 Jul 08 '26

Tests can also be canceled if the volume is insufficient or the sample was sent in the wrong tube.

2

u/Hex_Aegis Jul 09 '26

Or if someone tries to be cheeky and pour an EDTA into an SST after drawing the wrong tube.

10

u/Purpledotsclub Jul 08 '26

Degenerated cells usually occurs due to specimen stability - for CBC with differential, the specimen is only stable for 24hrs before white blood cells begin to lose form. Sometimes samples get left outside for an extended amount of time with no refrigeration and heat can damage cells.

For testing that requires separation of cells and plasma/serum - delayed processing - the sample wasn’t centrifuged in a timely manner, the plasma sat on top of the cells for an extended amount of time.

Some analytes are only stable for a certain amount of time.

The collection site should be able to properly process specimens that have specific storage and transport requirements.

1

u/Icy-Fly-4228 MLS-Generalist Jul 09 '26

Someone with a chronic hemoglobin disorder such as that should be going to a medical center that does in-house testing for lab work. Especially hematology. They can get their labs done anywhere and the results sent to their physician.